Cartography:Introduction
Everyone is a map maker! We sketch maps on a piece of paper to show how to get to our
house, we download maps from the Web and annotate them, we sometimes take a pen or
pencil and make a more formal map of a route or a place. Artists make maps for books or
magazines and use maps symbolically in their work. It is a mark of the major changes in
the field that now almost anyone can make a professional-looking map on the computer.
We create maps of data from some spreadsheet pro-grams. Illustration programs allow for
more elegant maps to our house than the pencil sketch. Mapping programs and geographic
information systems are increasingly affordable and available to the general public. Of
course, there are also professionals who have been trained in mapmaking and make their
living creating maps.
Cartography, GIS, Visualization, and Mapmaking
Cartography has been defined by the International Cartographic Association as “the art,
science and technology of making maps, together with their study as scientific documents
and works of art.” It has also been defined as “the production—including design,
compilation, construction, projection, reproduction, use, and distribution—of maps”.
Geographic cartography is a distinct branch of cartography; the geographic cartographer
understands the spatial perspective of the physical environment and has the skills to
abstract and symbolize this environment. The cartographer also has understanding of areal
relationships and has a thorough knowledge of the importance of scale to the final
presentation of spatial data.
GIS stands for geographic information systems: A computer-based system for
collecting, managing, analyzing, modeling, and presenting geographic data for a wide
range of applications. Geo-graphic information science, then, is the discipline that studies
and uses a GIS as a tool. GIS is not simply creating maps with a computer. The technology
is a very powerful tool for analyzing spatial data; while maps can be and are produced with
GIS, their main power is analytical. GI scientists do not consider themselves primarily as
mapmakers. Although they may produce maps as an end product, their primary emphasis
is on analysis of the data.
Mapmaking is a generic term that refers to creating maps by any method whether
manually or by computer regardless of purpose or scale. It refers to all of the processes of
producing a map, whether the person is collecting data, performing the design of the map,
or preparing the map for distribution in hardcopy or for the Web.
Visualization or geovisualization can be defined as “the representation of data in a
viewable medium or format.” Commonly, definitions of visualization include reference to
computer technologies and interactive maps. One model that explains visualization and
communication is the “cartography cubed diagram,” that describes visualization as private,
interactive, and revealing unknowns, while communication is public, non-interactive, and
revealing knowns. Although these models are generally considered the best explanations of
visualization, presentations of animated maps and “flythroughs” are often described as
visualizations. In this course we will be concerned with both the private visualizations that
,occur at the planning stage and the public communication or presentation that occurs when
the map is published or put online.
The “cartography cubed” model.
What Is a Map?
A map is a graphic representation of include all aspects of the cultural and physical
environment. Maps are either tangible (also called “real”) or virtual in nature. Printed
maps, such as maps in books, hard-copy atlas maps, the large maps at the front of many
class-rooms, or the map that you just printed, all have a physical reality and are tangible
maps. A virtual map is a map that is viewable but is without a physical or tangible reality,
such as a map that is displayed on a computer monitor display or as a projected graphic in
a lecturer’s Power Point presentation; virtual map has come to mean most impermanent,
non-print maps that appear on a display.
There are also mental maps, generally described as mental images that have spatial
attributes. Mental maps are developed in our minds over time by the accumulation of many
sensory inputs, including tangible or virtual maps.
, Kinds of Maps
Since maps can represent anything that has a spatial component, there are hundreds of
possible map types; however, these can be grouped into a few categories. One
categorization is based on map function. These functional categories are general-purpose
maps, special-purpose maps, and thematic maps. As is common, there is not complete
agreement among cartographers about these terms or categories.
General-purpose maps, or reference maps, as the name suggests, do not emphasize one
type of feature over another. Such maps customarily display objects (both natural and man-
made) from the geographical environment. The emphasis is on location, and the purpose is
to show a variety of features of the world or a portion of it. They show a variety of
geographic phenomena (political boundaries, transportation lines, cities, rivers, etc.) and
present a general picture of an area. They are used for reference, planning, and location.
Commonly, the state or regional maps in an atlas are of this type, and topographic maps
are often placed in this category.
Special-purpose maps are created for a very specific type of user. Geologic, soil, and
cadastral maps are included here. Such maps are usually large scale (showing a small area
and much detail), and the user is usually familiar with the subject, if not the area.
Navigation maps, which include all types of maps created for route finding, such as
aeronautical charts, nautical charts, and road maps, are often included under the special-
purpose maps.
Thematic maps have been called a variety of names (special subject, statistical,
distribution, and data maps), but the term “thematic” is now generally accepted. Thematic
maps normally feature only a single distribution or relationship, and any other information
shown (base data) serves as a spatial background or framework to help locate the
distribution being mapped. Thematic maps may be either qualitative or quantitative. That
is, they show some characteristic or property, such as land use, or show numerical data,
such as temperatures, rainfall, or population.
Thematic maps may be subdivided into two groups, qualitative and quantitative. The
principal purpose of a qualitative thematic map is to show the spatial distribution or
location of single theme of nominal data. These types of thematic maps do not show any
quantities at all but rather purely qualitative information, and are usually rather generalized
Everyone is a map maker! We sketch maps on a piece of paper to show how to get to our
house, we download maps from the Web and annotate them, we sometimes take a pen or
pencil and make a more formal map of a route or a place. Artists make maps for books or
magazines and use maps symbolically in their work. It is a mark of the major changes in
the field that now almost anyone can make a professional-looking map on the computer.
We create maps of data from some spreadsheet pro-grams. Illustration programs allow for
more elegant maps to our house than the pencil sketch. Mapping programs and geographic
information systems are increasingly affordable and available to the general public. Of
course, there are also professionals who have been trained in mapmaking and make their
living creating maps.
Cartography, GIS, Visualization, and Mapmaking
Cartography has been defined by the International Cartographic Association as “the art,
science and technology of making maps, together with their study as scientific documents
and works of art.” It has also been defined as “the production—including design,
compilation, construction, projection, reproduction, use, and distribution—of maps”.
Geographic cartography is a distinct branch of cartography; the geographic cartographer
understands the spatial perspective of the physical environment and has the skills to
abstract and symbolize this environment. The cartographer also has understanding of areal
relationships and has a thorough knowledge of the importance of scale to the final
presentation of spatial data.
GIS stands for geographic information systems: A computer-based system for
collecting, managing, analyzing, modeling, and presenting geographic data for a wide
range of applications. Geo-graphic information science, then, is the discipline that studies
and uses a GIS as a tool. GIS is not simply creating maps with a computer. The technology
is a very powerful tool for analyzing spatial data; while maps can be and are produced with
GIS, their main power is analytical. GI scientists do not consider themselves primarily as
mapmakers. Although they may produce maps as an end product, their primary emphasis
is on analysis of the data.
Mapmaking is a generic term that refers to creating maps by any method whether
manually or by computer regardless of purpose or scale. It refers to all of the processes of
producing a map, whether the person is collecting data, performing the design of the map,
or preparing the map for distribution in hardcopy or for the Web.
Visualization or geovisualization can be defined as “the representation of data in a
viewable medium or format.” Commonly, definitions of visualization include reference to
computer technologies and interactive maps. One model that explains visualization and
communication is the “cartography cubed diagram,” that describes visualization as private,
interactive, and revealing unknowns, while communication is public, non-interactive, and
revealing knowns. Although these models are generally considered the best explanations of
visualization, presentations of animated maps and “flythroughs” are often described as
visualizations. In this course we will be concerned with both the private visualizations that
,occur at the planning stage and the public communication or presentation that occurs when
the map is published or put online.
The “cartography cubed” model.
What Is a Map?
A map is a graphic representation of include all aspects of the cultural and physical
environment. Maps are either tangible (also called “real”) or virtual in nature. Printed
maps, such as maps in books, hard-copy atlas maps, the large maps at the front of many
class-rooms, or the map that you just printed, all have a physical reality and are tangible
maps. A virtual map is a map that is viewable but is without a physical or tangible reality,
such as a map that is displayed on a computer monitor display or as a projected graphic in
a lecturer’s Power Point presentation; virtual map has come to mean most impermanent,
non-print maps that appear on a display.
There are also mental maps, generally described as mental images that have spatial
attributes. Mental maps are developed in our minds over time by the accumulation of many
sensory inputs, including tangible or virtual maps.
, Kinds of Maps
Since maps can represent anything that has a spatial component, there are hundreds of
possible map types; however, these can be grouped into a few categories. One
categorization is based on map function. These functional categories are general-purpose
maps, special-purpose maps, and thematic maps. As is common, there is not complete
agreement among cartographers about these terms or categories.
General-purpose maps, or reference maps, as the name suggests, do not emphasize one
type of feature over another. Such maps customarily display objects (both natural and man-
made) from the geographical environment. The emphasis is on location, and the purpose is
to show a variety of features of the world or a portion of it. They show a variety of
geographic phenomena (political boundaries, transportation lines, cities, rivers, etc.) and
present a general picture of an area. They are used for reference, planning, and location.
Commonly, the state or regional maps in an atlas are of this type, and topographic maps
are often placed in this category.
Special-purpose maps are created for a very specific type of user. Geologic, soil, and
cadastral maps are included here. Such maps are usually large scale (showing a small area
and much detail), and the user is usually familiar with the subject, if not the area.
Navigation maps, which include all types of maps created for route finding, such as
aeronautical charts, nautical charts, and road maps, are often included under the special-
purpose maps.
Thematic maps have been called a variety of names (special subject, statistical,
distribution, and data maps), but the term “thematic” is now generally accepted. Thematic
maps normally feature only a single distribution or relationship, and any other information
shown (base data) serves as a spatial background or framework to help locate the
distribution being mapped. Thematic maps may be either qualitative or quantitative. That
is, they show some characteristic or property, such as land use, or show numerical data,
such as temperatures, rainfall, or population.
Thematic maps may be subdivided into two groups, qualitative and quantitative. The
principal purpose of a qualitative thematic map is to show the spatial distribution or
location of single theme of nominal data. These types of thematic maps do not show any
quantities at all but rather purely qualitative information, and are usually rather generalized
